Top banking stories

The corporate bond market is increasingly coming under threat from stricter regulation on capital, liquidity and proprietary trading. Can new trading platforms such as TruMid and Electronifie come to the rescue?

It is becoming less and less likely that Argentina will resolve its dispute with international investors over its 2002 default before its presidential election in October. The question is, will the country drift further apart from the international investor community, or will the next government bring about the structural reforms markets are impatient to see?

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Stringent capital requirements set by the Central Bank of Armenia will test many of the country's banks, which are already struggling in a slowing economy. But for those that already meet the new standards, the opportunities arising from possible consolidation could provide a much-needed avenue to growth.

The Postal Savings Bank of China has already stunned the market with its remarkable ascent since its establishment in 2007. Now, talks of an initial public offering, sustained growth and diversification of its business are making the bank's extraordinary rise even more impressive. Stefania Palma explores these new developments.

The Indian government may be keen for consolidation in the banking sector – driven by a desire to see the country's lenders figure among the world's largest banks – but internal resistance to such changes, from bank employees and their unions in particular, continue to thwart such activity. On top of this, India's lenders are struggling with non-performing assets, which has proved a blight on their profits over the past 12 months.

With state funding on the decline, and new technologies and more stringent regulation both increasing, the Indian banking sector is undergoing a significant period of change. New players are entering the market, making it even more difficult for the state-owned banks, which are already struggling with deteriorating asset quality and incoming capital adequacy targets.

Growth in Puerto Rico's economy is sluggish, and its banks have been struggling to find profitable areas. However, a round of mergers and acquisitions – some of them enforced – and opportunities overseas mean that the island's lenders are finding some ways to expand.

Many German banks had their fingers badly burnt in the financial crisis, having disastrously expanded into areas such as Spanish real estate and global shipping. As a result, the country's private banks, sparkassen and landesbanken have largely reverted to type, happy with unspectacular but predictable growth in an oversaturated domestic market.

Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the president and chief executive of Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group, believes that the scope for international expansion for Islamic finance is huge, and that improved oversight combined with scholarly jurisprudence is the key to a more harmonious global structure in the market.

It is becoming less and less likely that Argentina will resolve its dispute with international investors over its 2002 default before its presidential election in October. The question is, will the country drift further apart from the international investor community, or will the next government bring about the structural reforms markets are impatient to see?

Databank

Measuring local bank performance is a challenge when a country relies on four different exchange rates.

Interview: IMF's Christine Lagarde

In an extensive interview The Banker's editor Brian Caplen talks to the IMF's managing director Christine Lagarde about the outlook for the global economy, reform in China, the lessons learned from the Greek crisis, the future of the eurozone and the challenges facing Peru, host to this year's annual meeting.

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